Was the singing of Vande Mataram made mandatory or not? Is it against the religious sentiments of communities to sing it or not? Even as the nation stayed in the grip of these questions over the past week, the centenary of the national song was celebrated on September 7.

While the Union Home Ministry said that the singing of the song was optional, the Bharatiya Janata Party made it compulsory in the states that are governed by it.

In Mumbai, Shiv Sena leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Manohar Joshi led party cadres in singing the national song.